She’s rarely been off our TV screens since shooting to fame on The X Factor in 2009, and now Stacey Solomon is in talks for another iconic entertainment show – Strictly Come Dancing.
With reports that she’s been approached for this year’s series, insiders say Stacey is already prepping to make sure she goes far in the competition, so much so that she’s considering putting husband Joe Swash on a sex ban.
‘Stacey has been approached by Strictly for years but has always turned it down because it hasn’t been the right time. But now she feels this is too good an opportunity to miss,’ our source says.
‘Nothing is signed yet and a lot could happen, but Stacey is very determined. She wouldn’t want to go home early, so will make sure she stands every chance. She’s told Joe that he’d better not get her pregnant and ruin it, and has joked that if she does sign up, she’s putting him on a sex ban because she can’t risk having another baby right now.’
The Solomon-Swash brood is already at bursting point. Stacey, 35, and Joe, 43 – who tied the knot in 2022 – share Rex, five, Rose, three, and two-year-old Belle, while Stacey is also mum to Zachary, 17, and Leighton, 12, from previous relationships, and Joe is dad to 17-year-old son Harry.
Although Stacey joked last year that she ‘can’t even handle’ the kids they currently have, she admitted she was feeling ‘broody’ in February. And in 2022, she quipped that Joe was ‘trying to get her pregnant again’ as she watched him doing household chores.
But while they may be a strong couple, they aren’t without their moments. Fans have been left shocked by the explosive arguments the pair have got into on their BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary series, Stacey & Joe.
In one episode, the couple rowed because Joe turned up five hours late when Stacey had an important work meeting, while another showed them having a heated argument about him leaving beans on the sofa. More recently, Stacey and Joe were filmed having a couples’ therapy session. Stacey said, ‘You fail to recognise anything that I’m saying to you,’while Joe responded, ‘I’ve heard nothing but negative stuff.’
Our insider explains that Stacey realises that if she appears on Strictly, their relationship will be in the spotlight once again and will probably fall foul to rumours of the infamous ‘curse’ – which has seen over 20 relationships break down over the course of its 22 series-run.
‘Stacey accepts that if she signs up, her marriage to Joe will come under even more scrutiny because of the ‘Strictly Curse’, even though she knows they would be the last couple to get caught out with that. She’s told Joe he has nothing to panic about,’ they say.
‘Her dream partner would be Johannes, as it would stop any rumours of a romance as she would just hate to have to defend her marriage. But that’s all part of the deal when signing up to a show like Strictly and thankfully, Stacey and Joe are very happy and strong together.’
Stacey is no stranger to reality TV. As well as coming third on her X Factor series, she is also a former Queen of the Jungle after winning I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! back in 2010. Her successful career on the box didn’t stop there though. She was soon snapped up to be a Loose Women panellist, and scooped up a National Television Award for her BBC show, Sort Your Life Out.
And Stacey has made no secret about her desire to add Strictly to her list. In 2022, she said, ‘I would never say never but I am a terrible dancer, an absolutely terrible dancer. I don’t know why, but I have no rhythm when it comes to movement. I have rhythm with singing or listening to music but when it comes to moving my feet I’m left-footed, I have two left feet! But I am obsessed with it, I’m obsessed with the costumes. And also I would love to learn a new skill like that. I love learning anything to be honest.’
Our source adds, ‘Stacey doesn’t want to be embarrassed, so she and her sister Jemma have already started doing dance lessons so she has some form of rhythm before she starts. Stacey also knows how much her girls would love to see her on TV dancing – they’ve both started lessons and having them come down to rehearsals would make Stacey so happy.
'They could even have matching outfits with mummy and it would also make great content for her reality show – which is good for both her and the BBC.’